Oneshot Heroes aren't made, they're born
by Cyborgscouse
Summary: The one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying


Disclaimer: I don't own Terminator the Sarah Connor chronicles and I never will.

Summary: The one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying

A/n: This can possibly run in the same universe as I'm not a hero, I'm just human taking place after the events of that story but never mentioning anything that happened.

- - -

**2025**

Dull green eyes that once held a spark of life and innocence in them, stared impassively at the steel wall directly in front them but not seeing it at all, instead they were looking at what could be done for the past and at the same time the future to stop this from happening all over again. Time travel was not something John Connor ever liked using, the effects of it were far reaching, people that he saw die were alive; while people that should have been alive were dead. However it was something he had to use if Skynet continued to send machines to kill him in the past, there was a chance that the timeline had been cracked enough so that even if his sixteen year old self died he'd still be alive in the here and now, but it wasn't something that he knew to be one hundred percent accurate.

Turning his head to look over his shoulder at the three people that were in his makeshift office with him, together the four of them had been called the Invincibles from other members of the resistance. Derek Baum, Marty Bedell, Cameron Philips and him, it confused him that his Terminator protector was using the alias she had been given while looking for him back in 1999. Anytime there was a mission that would result in a high number of deaths or casualties the four of them would lead the squad's and no matter how deadly the machines that they faced were, they would all return without a mark on them.

"You're sure?" John asked now turning away from them again, fingering the scar that travelled up his left cheek; he earned it the last time he fought Cromartie. The T-888 had tried to kill him just before Judgement day, without any weapons it wanted to kill him with its bare hands and he nearly did, pushing John's face into a broken window frame that Cameron had been tossed out of.

"Yes, this is the date that I acquired my skin to try and kill you." The only female in the room replied. Apart from Derek who only had to avoid his younger self and Kyle, she had to make sure that she was only seen when John was checking on the resistance; no matter how much her emotional state had evolved and her learning to become more human; she still looked exactly the same as she had done the first time she found John. "I am certain that Alison Young will be in a Skynet camp, a T0K 715 will be questioning her to make sure it can infiltrate the camp and try to terminate you." Cameron continued staring at the back of John's head; she didn't notice the look that Bedell that threw at her screaming 'you killed her.' "In approximately three days, she shall return and attempt to keep herself around you at all times, two days later when you are sleeping she will try to suffocate you with your pillow. She will fail." She paused not sure on what else to say to him.

"Because I'm John Connor?" he asked bitterly adding a laugh to the end of the sentence, it had been a long time since he'd been angry for someone using that very sentence to explain why he could do the things that he did. It added to his legendary status as well as the myths that the older resistance fighters fed to their children as they tried to explain why he was the only person who was able to survive when Skynet wanted him dead. One of the funnier rumours John had heard about himself was that he had died years ago and they simply but his skin over a T-888's frame and programmed a chip that would allow him to carry on the war. No one apart from the trio would ever know that'd been running from and fighting Skynet before there ever was one.

"I tried to get Perry to cancel her mission, he didn't care even when I told him that you ordered Young to be sent to you for a different mission. After all this time he still doesn't like taking orders from someone younger than him. If we weren't at war you could kill him for insubordination." Derek said smiling as his nephew laughed at the end comment, there was no small amount of bad blood between John and Perry going all the way back to the Cheyenne Mountains, he could never swallow the fact that a twenty year old knew how to stop the earlier Terminators.

"Some of us are always at war Derek, it's all we have." Connor replied his laughter stopped as suddenly as it started, standing from the chair he turned around to look at them; all of them had saved his life more than once and were all prepared to die for him; the only thing was that he was prepared to die for them as well. No matter how important he knew he was to the war and resistance he'd happily trade his life if any of them needed it. "Where's the camp?" John asked staring at Cameron, the only one out of the whole resistance that had never lost the innocence in her eyes, the same chocolate brown eyes that he had fallen in love with; calculating with a tint of worry in them as she knew what he was planning.

"Connor, Skynet will love a chance to kill you. You walk into this camp trying to save Young and who knows how many metals are in there." Bedell said before anyone else could open their mouths to try and convince him that it wasn't safe for him going there. "We know that she's got a crush on you, fuck she has ever since you saved her from them in her house back in 2011; I was there the next time she saw you, her first words when she hugged you remember?" staring at him, John didn't know why Marty thought he forgot that Alison had said to him that day. "Handsome man saved me from the machines. But she's just a sixteen year old kid, is she really worth dying for?" he asked now watching as his General picked up his arc wielder from the table behind him, his emerald eyes glowing eerily in the dark looking like they could steal your soul.

"Worth dying for. Worth killing for. Worth going to hell for." He replied before turning to look at Cameron once again, "You're taking me to that camp," he told her before walking towards the door tossing it open. "Now!" not wasting anytime both Cameron and Derek rushed out of the door following John, Bedell picking up the rear of the group shaking his head slightly, it was the very reason that Skynet was terrified of John, he'd lead his army to the gates of hell if it meant he could destroyed the computer that tore apart his life.

For the soldiers that had been sitting in one of the few rec halls where they were allowed to relax as much as they could before another mission with their squad would come up, it was almost reminiscent of a slow motion movie watching the four of them walk out of John's office. Looking neither left nor right as they walked towards the door that would take them outside and onto the barren wasteland that was what was left after the bombs fell and the battles that followed. Walking towards one of the Huumvee's that had a coltan coating that would offer them enough protection for what they would face.

"MGL," John said picking the grenade launcher up and tossing it to his uncle who immediately started to load it with his own thermite grenades, a sadistic smirk on his face as he tapped the cylinder, not turning to look at them while he picked another gun up. "Mossberg 500," he called holding up the shotgun, like with all of the resistance's weapons it was permanently fitted with its grenade launcher adapter. Holding it out behind him, he waited for Cameron to take the weapon from him, despite her being stronger than anyone she never chose the bulkier weapons often saying that they would take too long to reload if John needed to be protected from enemies. Turning to look at Bedell who like himself always chose the same weapon on each mission; John was met with a smirk.

"M4A1 rifle, equipped with the M203 grenade launcher, AN/PAQ-4 laser system, M68 CCO reflex sight, and the AN/PVS 4 night vision optics." Marty listed off with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the gun.

"Like a dam woman." Derek muttered as he climbed into the back of the Huumvee, he had never gotten used to Bedell listing off what he wanted on his gun before he was given it, no one else was allowed to take it; so unless it became broken in a battle then it went out in the same state it came back in. "You know we're going right into the belly of the beast." He said louder looking at the back of John's head as Cameron started to drive, looking at his uncle in the rear-view mirror with a smirk on his face having become used to his way of showing concern without openly saying the words.

"What's wrong Derek, getting scared in your old age?" he asked laughing at the look of outrage on the older man's face before turning his attention to the road in front of him once again. The barren landscape that looked like something off of a film he used to watch growing up showing what would happen if they were ever attacked by a superpower wiped the grin from John's face, "They'll have them all over the place protecting it," he whispered turning to look at Cameron from the corner of his eye, "just drive through as many as you can, get us as close as possibly to the camp." He finished balancing both his and her weapon on his knee, he knew that she wouldn't openly question him; but the way she would look at him for a split second before turning away told him that she didn't like the idea of him being there for this mission.

With Cameron behind the wheel it didn't take long for the grey monstrosity of a building to appear like a mirage in the desert shimmering against the soft glow of that moon that was able to shine through the thickness of the clouds formed by the years of conflict and weapons becoming larger and more destructive. With it came the sea of red glowing eyes that seemed to beacon all to their death.

"Just go straight through it." John ordered tightening his grip on the two guns, behind him both Derek and Marty gripped onto their seats bracing themselves for the impact. Flying towards the windshield of the Huumvee and only being stopped by the dainty hand that planted itself on his chest pushing him back, John glared out at the metal face if a Terminator staring back at him, teeth clenched in their default position unless they were being given a human cover to try and get close to the resistance. "Go," he said to Cameron who had taken her foot off of the pedal upon the first impact and was staring out at the machines that were closing in. "GO!" he shouted at her again only to be ignored as the front of the car was torn off revealing the engine. Before the T-888 could destroy the car with them inside it, John stamped his foot over Cameron's, the suddenness of it forcing her foot back over the pedal with his on top.

After smashing through a trio of machines that tried to intercept the Huumvee before the damage became too much for it to take, diving out of the side of the vehicle with Derek copying him; Marty and Cameron doing the same on the other side, John slid the shotgun along the top of the car before turning to look at the camp less than fifty metres away.

"There's got to be two hundred metals out here John," Derek spoke looking at the collection of Terminators ranging through the primitive T-70's, both ground and air HK's, T800's and T-888's.

"Problem?" his nephew replied, "We'll back fifty each," he joked watching as his uncle grabbed the trio of belts housing additional grenades for his weapon before turning and firing at the closest Terminator to them. A split second look down at his arc wielder to see that the isotope was red, and the night was filled with a light blue burst of energy that cut through a line of machines that didn't know to run away from the deadly weapon, years of modifications to the isotope led to a permanent power source for the gun; which had proven to be life saving from the times when you had to wait until it could be fired again.

"Connor, a bit of help." Bedell yelled over the roar of Cameron and Derek's grenades being fired and hitting their mark as his own gun jammed. Jumping over the bonnet of their ruined transport John pulled the trigger on his arc wielder for a second time, sending pieces of white hot metal flying in all directions seconds before the Terminator could crush Marty's head like a grape.

"Slap. Pull. Observe. Release. Tap. Shoot." John yelled at him not wasting any time trying to pick out and new target and firing at the first moving thing that wasn't one of them. "GET DOWN!" he screamed sprinting towards Cameron before flying through the air. The surprise and momentum meant he was able to knock his own Terminator protector to the ground, a split second before a stream of fire shot through the air where Cameron had stood. Hitting the floor with a soft oomph, she stared up at John who was laying on top of her; at first she thought the flames had hit him because he wasn't moving, but then John turned to look at her concern radiating in his green eyes as they met with own brown ones. Having been aware before this that Cameron's body was soft and light like a pillow despite her coltan frame something that made no sense to him, he also knew that this wasn't the time to get caught up in how close their faces were; or go through with that they usually did when one of them came back safe from a mission. However that didn't mean John could stop himself from gently caressing her face briefly, before looking up. "What the fuck is that?" he asked pulling himself and Cameron back up, allowing her to turn around and scan the Terminator that attacked while he used his arc wielder to blast away anything close to them.

**Initiating scan.......**

**Model: T-X, **

**Threat level: Extreme**

**Base description: Hardened Coltan endo-skeleton combined with a mimetic Poly-Alloy**

**Weaponry: Diamond tipped circular saw. Flame thrower. Plasma cannon. **

**Weakness: Unknown.**

**Mission: Unknown.**

**Strength: In excess of 175% compared T0K model.**

**Speed: In excess of 125% compared to T0K model.**

**Evade confrontation.**

"John," Cameron whispered dread filling her body as she watched the T-X get closer to them while the male behind her continued to blast apart other Terminators left, right and centre. "We have to get away from it," she said aiming her Mossberg 500 and taking a shot at the machine that could kill them without breaking a sweat only to see the wound heal up seconds later. Spinning on his heel, John squeezed the trigger of the arc wielder and seeing it didn't have the same effect that he was hoping for, watching as the liquid metal formed over the wound before repairing itself, his stomach dropped out. Grabbing hold of Cameron's hand and running towards Derek and Bedell who were now fighting back to back; fifty meters further away then they had been before, John headed in the only safe location they had right then. The Skynet work camp.

"Run you stupid sons of bitches!" John screamed as he and Cameron bolted towards the work camp, watching their fearless General running from machines with genuine terror in his eyes something they hadn't seen in years, terrified them. Looking past them, Derek and Marty sure something closing in on them from the distance, the light from the moon reflecting off of the near pristine metal surface and then there was a bolt of blue energy slamming into a boulder that John and Cameron shot past seconds before.

"Go," Derek whispered firing off a grenade and stared wide eyed as it barely made the Terminator flinch never mind fall over, turning on his heel he shot after the fleeing trio knowing full well that they had nowhere to go and there couldn't run back to their own camp; it was just too far away. "What are we going to do?" he asked as they stood back against the building watching as machines closed in around the, this _so_ wasn't how he wanted to end the day. Confusion filled three sets of eyes as John tore two of his thermite grenade belts off of him, tossing them over his own shoulders.

"The seas behind us. Go to the edge of it, they can't swim. If they get too close dive in." He ordered them before turning to look at the work camp. "Don't wait for me. GO!" he yelled seeing that they hadn't moved from their spot, grabbing hold of Cameron before she could follow Derek and Marty John pulled her back to him before cupping her face. "You can't swim; you have to run if you can't win the fight Cam." He whispered to her before stroking the side of her face and kissing her gently, pulling away before she could return it.

"John I don't want you to die," she replied looking like she was going to shed a tear to get him to go with them, tucking the tiny ear piece into place he offered her a wolf like grin at her comment.

"I have no intention of dying," pulling her in for a second kiss that Cameron was quick to reciprocate this time, John felt her press her body closer to his and she tried to deepen the kiss, once again he stopped her. "When Alison comes out she's going to radio you, I want you to meet her and take her back to the camp." He whispered before turning and climbing up the ladder that would take him into the camp.

- - -

The I-950 stood on the other side of the door of the room that Alison Young and had been thrown in, the sound of plastic and metal hitting the wall told him that she didn't want to try the gruel that they had given her; from someone that had said they ate rats she wasn't in the position to be picky about food. The screeching of Skynet ordering the other Terminators to find and kill John Connor filled her mind, but because she had been told to stay on guard she hadn't joined in the battle.

The echoing sound of heavy footsteps filling the stone corridors caught the I-950's attention, and knowing apart from her no one else wore shoes, that could mean only one thing. A human had gotten into the base. The readiness to launch forwards and tear out the throat of whoever emerged from the shadows fled from her when the human/terminator abomination saw the battle hardened face of John Connor getting closer and closer, the I-950 had heard captured resistance fighters talk about how he was an angel sent down to save them. She disagreed, to her John Connor was more like a demon that had escaped from the depths of hell, leaving fire and destruction in his wake on his crusade to take Skynet back to the abyss with him. The fact that he was armed with his symbolic arc wielder and had two belts of grenades on him, made any thoughts of attack seems pitiful.

"Open the door and I'll let you live." He spoke quietly, yet John's voice reverberated off the walls sounding more menacing the lower it got, the I-950 was no fool, she knew that if she gave the keys to him then Skynet would do far worse to her then he could. The fact that she could feel fear compared to the other Terminators meant that there was no thought to her decision, moving to the side to try and get some distance between them before calling for back up never happened. A second after her body twitched in a way that told John she wasn't going to do what he said, an arc of blue energy tore through the hybrid's body. "Or don't, up to you," he muttered, walking over to the slightly smoking body and patting the pockets down, he pulled an impossibly bent key out before knocking on the door.

"I won't eat what you give me, now piss you metal bitch." An angry voice shouted back causing John to smirk, even after being locked up Alison still held onto that fiery temper that Cameron at times was starting to show. Forcing the key into the lock with some difficulty and turning it until he heard the loud click from the rusted door, John tried to push it open. Only it didn't budge, trying a second time with a harder shove; he felt it groan but remained resolute to not open up.

"Fuck," he whispered before leading with his shoulder, making sure that he didn't put any pressure on the grenades resting there. With the door now slowly opening John walked inside the tiny and dirty room watching as the teenage girl sitting on the floor quickly scrambled away from him. "Alison?" he asked looking down at her, a ghost of a smile formed on his face when her brown eyes lit up seeing him before she rushed forwards; her arms wrapped around his stomach as she hugged him, her face buried in his chest.

"Handsome man saved me from the machines." She whispered not believing that he had come for her, people had often said that the two of them had a sibling relationship with how much John looked out for her, but she disagreed with that idea; the way that her feelings and fantasies revolved around him it was safe to say that she didn't think of him as a brother.

"We have to go," John spoke before turning around and storming back out of the room, his hand eclipsing her tiny wrist, he had plans for there that didn't involve her being an outline for a Terminator; he already had one of them. Unable to get too far before the all too familiar sounds of metal feet coming closer and closer started to fill the air around them, turning to look at the sixteen year old that was shaking like a leaf despite her efforts to appear indifferent to the sounds made him smile. "Listen to me," John whispered before pulling a walkie talkie out of his side pocket and handing it to her, "follow this path all the way down the corridor and take a right, there's a hole in the wall that leads to a ladder. Use that to get outside, and then use the walkie; it's pre-set already and tell them to come back for you." Pausing as he thought about the reaction that Alison would have at seeing Cameron for the first time he sighed. "And whatever you do when you see them, don't panic." He finished before looking over his shoulder as the sounds came closer with each second.

"Wait you're not coming with me?" she asked staring at John, it didn't make any sense for him to be staying behind unless he was looking for other prisoners, but selfishly she liked the idea that he had come for her and only her.

"Me? I want to see how it ends." He said cryptically, staring at him like he was crazy, Alison had no idea what he was talking about; until her eyes found the grenades swinging on his shoulders. "Now go, tell them that you're to be taken to the TDE, you were only young when the bombs fell. I want you to see the world before it ever happened. 1999 Red valley Texas." He finished with a grin before turning to look in the direction that the machines were coming from. "Cam?" he spoke softly waiting until Alison's footsteps had long since vanished, his finger pressing down on the ear piece so that they could hear each other. "I'm sorry but there was no other choice, always remember that I love you." Tearing it out of his ear before she could respond, John tossed the two thermite grenade belts to the floor inches in front of the group of T-888's that had finally caught up to him, grinning maliciously as their red glowing eyes stared straight at him, he aimed his arc wielder at the explosives. "Catch you fuckers at a bad time?" he laughed before pulling the trigger.

"JOHN!" Cameron screamed watching as an explosion filled the air and then silence before the work camp exploded. Tears filled her brown eyes as she watched the mushroom cloud go up into the air, before the thick blanket of dust, dirty and debris expanded in an ever growing circle covering all that was within one hundred metres of it. Being forced to the ground from the force of the attack, Cameron could do nothing but sob knowing full well that from his last message John had no intention of getting out of the work camp when he made the mission, only the sound of static on her walkie caught her attention.

"Is anyone out there, this is Alison. Alison Young." There was a paused as they waited for a reply that never came. "I can't believe he did that, why would he kill himself?" the question was followed by the sound of the girl sobbing which was followed by Cameron once again allowing herself to give into the grief momentarily.

- - -

**1999**

Sitting in the middle of the classroom, she brown haired girl couldn't help but look at the male in the red checked shirt every few seconds. It was really him; she couldn't believe the similarities between the two of them including the green eyes that drew you in like a mouth to the flame.

"What's your name?" she asked fighting back the smile as she watched him jump out of his seat at the fact someone was talking to him, from what she'd been told about his life she couldn't blame him for the uneasiness, if she'd been running from Skynet and machines all her life she'd be on edge too.

"John," he replied looking her up and down like he was expecting her to pull a gun out and start shooting at him, opposed to checking her out like she wished he would have.

"Alison." She spoke with a beaming smile as she spoke again, giving him her name even if he didn't ask for it.

- - -

A/n 2: This was meant to have an angtsy ending but i wasn't able to leave it like that.


End file.
